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Ethernet
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ethernet/irnt/isafamilyofcomputernetworking
technologiescommonlyusedinlocalareanetworks(LANs)and
metropolitanareanetworks(MANs).[1]Itwascommercially
introducedin1980andfirststandardizedin1983asIEEE802.3,[2]
andhassincebeenrefinedtosupporthigherbitratesandlongerlink
distances.Overtime,Ethernethaslargelyreplacedcompetingwired
LANtechnologiessuchastokenring,FDDIandARCNET.
Theoriginal10BASE5Ethernetusescoaxialcableasashared
medium,whilethenewerEthernetvariantsusetwistedpairand
ACat5econnectiononalaptop,used
fiberopticlinksinconjunctionwithhubsorswitches.Overthe
forEthernet
courseofitshistory,Ethernetdatatransferrateshavebeenincreased
fromtheoriginal2.94megabitspersecond(Mbit/s)[3]tothelatest
100gigabitspersecond(Gbit/s),with400Gbit/sexpectedbylate2017.[4]TheEthernetstandardscomprise
severalwiringandsignalingvariantsoftheOSIphysicallayerinusewithEthernet.
SystemscommunicatingoverEthernetdivideastreamofdataintoshorterpiecescalledframes.Eachframe
containssourceanddestinationaddresses,anderrorcheckingdatasothatdamagedframescanbedetected
anddiscardedmostoften,higherlayerprotocolstriggerretransmissionoflostframes.AspertheOSI
model,Ethernetprovidesservicesuptoandincludingthedatalinklayer.[5]
Sinceitscommercialrelease,Ethernethasretainedagooddegreeofbackwardcompatibility.Featuressuch
asthe48bitMACaddressandEthernetframeformathaveinfluencedothernetworkingprotocols.The
primaryalternativeforsomeusesofcontemporaryLANsisWiFi,awirelessprotocolstandardizedas
IEEE802.11.[6]

Contents
1 History
2 Standardization
3 Evolution
3.1 Sharedmedia
3.2 Repeatersandhubs
3.3 Bridgingandswitching
3.4 Advancednetworking
4 VarietiesofEthernet
5 Layer2datagrams
6 Autonegotiation
7 Seealso
8 Notes
9 References
10 Furtherreading
11 Externallinks

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11 Externallinks

History
EthernetwasdevelopedatXeroxPARCbetween1973and
1974.[7][8]ItwasinspiredbyALOHAnet,whichRobertMetcalfe
hadstudiedaspartofhisPhDdissertation.[9]Theideawasfirst
documentedinamemothatMetcalfewroteonMay22,1973,where
henameditafterthedisprovenluminiferousetherasan
"omnipresent,completelypassivemediumforthepropagationof
electromagneticwaves".[7][10][11]In1975,Xeroxfiledapatent
applicationlistingMetcalfe,DavidBoggs,ChuckThacker,and
ButlerLampsonasinventors.[12]In1976,afterthesystemwas
deployedatPARC,MetcalfeandBoggspublishedaseminal
paper.[13][a]

An8P8Cmodularconnector(often
calledRJ45)commonlyusedonCat5
cablesinEthernetnetworks

MetcalfeleftXeroxinJune1979toform3Com.[7][15]HeconvincedDigitalEquipmentCorporation(DEC),
Intel,andXeroxtoworktogethertopromoteEthernetasastandard.Thesocalled"DIX"standard,for
"Digital/Intel/Xerox",specified10Mbit/sEthernet,with48bitdestinationandsourceaddressesanda
global16bitEthertypetypefield.ItwaspublishedonSeptember30,1980as"TheEthernet,ALocalArea
Network.DataLinkLayerandPhysicalLayerSpecifications".[16]Version2waspublishedinNovember,
1982[17]anddefineswhathasbecomeknownasEthernetII.Formalstandardizationeffortsproceededatthe
sametimeandresultedinthepublicationofIEEE802.3onJune23,1983.[2]
Ethernetinitiallycompetedwithtwolargelyproprietarysystems,TokenRingandTokenBus.Because
Ethernetwasabletoadapttomarketrealitiesandshifttoinexpensiveandubiquitoustwistedpairwiring,
theseproprietaryprotocolssoonfoundthemselvescompetinginamarketinundatedbyEthernetproducts,
and,bytheendofthe1980s,Ethernetwasclearlythedominantnetworktechnology.[7]Intheprocess,
3Combecameamajorcompany.3Comshippeditsfirst10Mbit/sEthernet3C100NICinMarch1981,and
thatyearstartedsellingadaptersforPDP11sandVAXes,aswellasMultibusbasedIntelandSun
Microsystemscomputers.[18]:9ThiswasfollowedquicklybyDEC'sUnibustoEthernetadapter,whichDEC
soldandusedinternallytobuilditsowncorporatenetwork,whichreachedover10,000nodesby1986,
makingitoneofthelargestcomputernetworksintheworldatthattime.[19]AnEthernetadaptercardfor
theIBMPCwasreleasedin1982,and,by1985,3Comhadsold100,000.[15]Bytheearly1990s,Ethernet
becamesoprevalentthatitwasamusthavefeatureformoderncomputers,andEthernetportsbeganto
appearonsomePCsandmostworkstations.Thisprocesswasgreatlyspedupwiththeintroductionof
10BASETanditsrelativelysmallmodularconnector,atwhichpointEthernetportsappearedevenonlow
endmotherboards.
Sincethen,Ethernettechnologyhasevolvedtomeetnewbandwidthandmarketrequirements.[20]In
additiontocomputers,Ethernetisnowusedtointerconnectappliancesandotherpersonaldevices.[7]Itis
usedinindustrialapplicationsandisquicklyreplacinglegacydatatransmissionsystemsintheworld's

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telecommunicationsnetworks.[21]By2010,themarketforEthernetequipmentamountedtoover$16billion
peryear.[22]

Standardization
InFebruary1980,theInstituteofElectricalandElectronics
Engineers(IEEE)startedproject802tostandardizelocalarea
networks(LAN).[15][23]The"DIXgroup"withGaryRobinson
(DEC),PhilArst(Intel),andBobPrintis(Xerox)submittedtheso
called"BlueBook"CSMA/CDspecificationasacandidateforthe
LANspecification.[16]InadditiontoCSMA/CD,TokenRing
(supportedbyIBM)andTokenBus(selectedandhenceforward
supportedbyGeneralMotors)werealsoconsideredascandidates
foraLANstandard.Competingproposalsandbroadinterestinthe
initiativeledtostrongdisagreementoverwhichtechnologyto
standardize.InDecember1980,thegroupwassplitintothree
subgroups,andstandardizationproceededseparatelyforeach
proposal.[15]

AnIntel82574LGigabitEthernet
NIC,PCIExpressx1card

DelaysinthestandardsprocessputatriskthemarketintroductionoftheXeroxStarworkstationand
3Com'sEthernetLANproducts.Withsuchbusinessimplicationsinmind,DavidLiddle(GeneralManager,
XeroxOfficeSystems)andMetcalfe(3Com)stronglysupportedaproposalofFritzRscheisen(Siemens
PrivateNetworks)foranallianceintheemergingofficecommunicationmarket,includingSiemens'support
fortheinternationalstandardizationofEthernet(April10,1981).IngridFromm,Siemens'representativeto
IEEE802,quicklyachievedbroadersupportforEthernetbeyondIEEEbytheestablishmentofacompeting
TaskGroup"LocalNetworks"withintheEuropeanstandardsbodyECMATC24.AsearlyasMarch1982
ECMATC24withitscorporatemembersreachedagreementonastandardforCSMA/CDbasedonthe
IEEE802draft.[18]:8BecausetheDIXproposalwasmosttechnicallycompleteandbecauseofthespeedy
actiontakenbyECMAwhichdecisivelycontributedtotheconciliationofopinionswithinIEEE,theIEEE
802.3CSMA/CDstandardwasapprovedinDecember1982.[15]IEEEpublishedthe802.3standardasa
draftin1983andasastandardin1985.[24]
ApprovalofEthernetontheinternationallevelwasachievedbyasimilar,crosspartisanactionwithFromm
astheliaisonofficerworkingtointegratewithInternationalElectrotechnicalCommission(IEC)Technical
Committee83(TC83)andInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)TechnicalCommittee97
SubCommittee6(TC97SC6).TheISO88023standardwaspublishedin1989.[25]

Evolution
Ethernetevolvedtoincludehigherbandwidth,improvedmediaaccesscontrolmethods,anddifferent
physicalmedia.ThecoaxialcablewasreplacedwithpointtopointlinksconnectedbyEthernetrepeatersor
switches.[26]

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Ethernetstationscommunicatebysendingeachotherdatapackets:blocksofdataindividuallysentand
delivered.AswithotherIEEE802LANs,eachEthernetstationisgivena48bitMACaddress.TheMAC
addressesareusedtospecifyboththedestinationandthesourceofeachdatapacket.Ethernetestablishes
linklevelconnections,whichcanbedefinedusingboththedestinationandsourceaddresses.Onreception
ofatransmission,thereceiverusesthedestinationaddresstodeterminewhetherthetransmissionisrelevant
tothestationorshouldbeignored.Networkinterfacesnormallydonotacceptpacketsaddressedtoother
Ethernetstations.Adapterscomeprogrammedwithagloballyuniqueaddress.[b]
AnEtherTypefieldineachframeisusedbytheoperatingsystemonthereceivingstationtoselectthe
appropriateprotocolmodule(e.g.,anInternetProtocolversionsuchasIPv4).Ethernetframesaresaidtobe
selfidentifying,becauseoftheframetype.Selfidentifyingframesmakeitpossibletointermixmultiple
protocolsonthesamephysicalnetworkandallowasinglecomputertousemultipleprotocolstogether.[27]
DespitetheevolutionofEthernettechnology,allgenerationsofEthernet(excludingearlyexperimental
versions)usethesameframeformats.[28]MixedspeednetworkscanbebuiltusingEthernetswitchesand
repeaterssupportingthedesiredEthernetvariants.[29]
DuetotheubiquityofEthernet,theeverdecreasingcostofthehardwareneededtosupportit,andthe
reducedpanelspaceneededbytwistedpairEthernet,mostmanufacturersnowbuildEthernetinterfaces
directlyintoPCmotherboards,eliminatingtheneedforinstallationofaseparatenetworkcard.[30]

Sharedmedia
Ethernetwasoriginallybasedontheideaofcomputerscommunicatingoverasharedcoaxialcableacting
asabroadcasttransmissionmedium.Themethodsusedweresimilartothoseusedinradiosystems,[c]with
thecommoncableprovidingthecommunicationchannellikenedtotheLuminiferousaetherin19thcentury
physics,anditwasfromthisreferencethatthename"Ethernet"wasderived.[31]
OriginalEthernet'ssharedcoaxialcable(thesharedmedium)traversedabuildingorcampustoevery
attachedmachine.Aschemeknownascarriersensemultipleaccesswithcollisiondetection(CSMA/CD)
governedthewaythecomputerssharedthechannel.Thisschemewassimplerthanthecompetingtoken
ringortokenbustechnologies.[d]ComputersareconnectedtoanAttachmentUnitInterface(AUI)
transceiver,whichisinturnconnectedtothecable(withthinEthernetthetransceiverisintegratedintothe
networkadapter).Whileasimplepassivewireishighlyreliableforsmallnetworks,itisnotreliablefor
largeextendednetworks,wheredamagetothewireinasingleplace,orasinglebadconnector,canmake
thewholeEthernetsegmentunusable.[e]
Throughthefirsthalfofthe1980s,Ethernet's10BASE5implementationusedacoaxialcable0.375inches
(9.5mm)indiameter,latercalled"thickEthernet"or"thicknet".Itssuccessor,10BASE2,called"thin
Ethernet"or"thinnet",usedtheRG58coaxialcable.Theemphasiswasonmakinginstallationofthecable
easierandlesscostly.[32]:57
Sinceallcommunicationshappenonthesamewire,anyinformationsentbyonecomputerisreceivedby
all,evenifthatinformationisintendedforjustonedestination.[f]Thenetworkinterfacecardinterruptsthe
CPUonlywhenapplicablepacketsarereceived:Thecardignoresinformationnotaddressedtoit.[g]Useof
asinglecablealsomeansthatthebandwidthisshared,suchthat,forexample,availablebandwidthtoeach
deviceishalvedwhentwostationsaresimultaneouslyactive.[33]
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Collisionshappenwhentwostationsattempttotransmitatthesame
time.Theycorrupttransmitteddataandrequirestationsto
retransmit.Thelostdataandretransmissionsreducethroughput.In
theworstcasewheremultipleactivehostsconnectedwithmaximum
allowedcablelengthattempttotransmitmanyshortframes,
excessivecollisionscanreducethroughputdramatically.However,a
Xeroxreportin1980studiedperformanceofanexistingEthernet
installationunderbothnormalandartificiallygeneratedheavyload.
Thereportclaimsthat98%throughputontheLANwas
observed.[34]ThisisincontrastwithtokenpassingLANs(token
ring,tokenbus),allofwhichsufferthroughputdegradationaseach
newnodecomesintotheLAN,duetotokenwaits.Thisreportwas
controversial,asmodelingshowedthatcollisionbasednetworks
theoreticallybecameunstableunderloadsaslowas37%ofnominal
capacity.Manyearlyresearchersfailedtounderstandtheseresults.
Performanceonrealnetworksissignificantlybetter.[35]
InamodernEthernet,thestationsdonotallshareonechannel
throughasharedcableorasimplerepeaterhubinstead,each
stationcommunicateswithaswitch,whichinturnforwardsthat
traffictothedestinationstation.Inthistopology,collisionsareonly
possibleifstationandswitchattempttocommunicatewitheach
otheratthesametime,andcollisionsarelimitedtothislink.
Furthermore,the10BASETstandardintroducedafullduplexmode
ofoperationwhichhasbecomeextremelycommon.Infullduplex,
switchandstationcancommunicatewitheachothersimultaneously,
andthereforemodernEthernetsarecompletelycollisionfree.

Repeatersandhubs

10BASE5Ethernetequipment.
Clockwisefromtopleft:Alate
modeltransceiverwithaninline
10BASE2adapter,asimilarmodel
transceiverwitha10BASE5adapter,
anAUIcable,adifferentstyleof
transceiverwith10BASE2T
connector,two10BASE5end
fittings,anorange"vampiretap"
installationtool(whichincludesa
specializeddrillbitatoneendanda
socketwrenchattheother),andan
earlymodel10BASE5transceiver
(h4000)manufacturedbyDEC.The
shortlengthofyellow10BASE5
cablehasoneendterminatedandthe
otherendpreparedtohavea
terminationfittinginstalledthehalf
black,halfgreyrectangularobject
throughwhichthecablepassesisan
installedvampiretap.

Forsignaldegradationandtimingreasons,coaxialEthernet
segmentshavearestrictedsize.Somewhatlargernetworkscanbe
builtbyusinganEthernetrepeater.Earlyrepeatershadonlytwo
ports,allowing,atmost,adoublingofnetworksize.Oncerepeaters
withmorethantwoportsbecameavailable,itwaspossibletowire
thenetworkinastartopology.Earlyexperimentswithstartopologies(called"Fibernet")usingopticalfiber
werepublishedby1978.[36]
SharedcableEthernetisalwayshardtoinstallinofficesbecauseitsbustopologyisinconflictwiththestar
topologycableplansdesignedintobuildingsfortelephony.ModifyingEthernettoconformtotwistedpair
telephonewiringalreadyinstalledincommercialbuildingsprovidedanotheropportunitytolowercosts,
expandtheinstalledbase,andleveragebuildingdesign,and,thus,twistedpairEthernetwasthenextlogical
developmentinthemid1980s.
Ethernetonunshieldedtwistedpaircables(UTP)beganwithStarLANat1Mbit/sinthemid1980s.In
1987SynOpticsintroducedthefirsttwistedpairEthernetat10Mbit/sinastarwiredcablingtopologywith
acentralhub,latercalledLattisNet.[15][37][38]Theseevolvedinto10BASET,whichwasdesignedforpoint
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topointlinksonly,andallterminationwasbuiltintothedevice.
Thischangedrepeatersfromaspecialistdeviceusedatthecenterof
largenetworkstoadevicethateverytwistedpairbasednetwork
withmorethantwomachineshadtouse.Thetreestructurethat
resultedfromthismadeEthernetnetworkseasiertomaintainby
preventingmostfaultswithonepeeroritsassociatedcablefrom
affectingotherdevicesonthenetwork.
Despitethephysicalstartopologyandthepresenceofseparate
transmitandreceivechannelsinthetwistedpairandfibermedia,
repeaterbasedEthernetnetworksstillusehalfduplexand
CSMA/CD,withonlyminimalactivitybytherepeater,primarilythe
CollisionEnforcementsignal,indealingwithpacketcollisions.
Everypacketissenttoeveryotherportontherepeater,so
bandwidthandsecurityproblemsarenotaddressed.Thetotal
throughputoftherepeaterislimitedtothatofasinglelink,andall
linksmustoperateatthesamespeed.

A1990snetworkinterfacecard
supportingbothcoaxialcablebased
10BASE2(BNCconnector,left)and
twistedpairbased10BASET(8P8C
connector,right)

Bridgingandswitching
WhilerepeaterscanisolatesomeaspectsofEthernetsegments,such
ascablebreakages,theystillforwardalltraffictoallEthernet
devices.Thiscreatespracticallimitsonhowmanymachinescan
communicateonanEthernetnetwork.Theentirenetworkisone
collisiondomain,andallhostshavetobeabletodetectcollisions
anywhereonthenetwork.Thislimitsthenumberofrepeaters
betweenthefarthestnodes.Segmentsjoinedbyrepeatershavetoall
operateatthesamespeed,makingphasedinupgradesimpossible.
Patchcableswithpatchfieldsoftwo
Toalleviatetheseproblems,bridgingwascreatedtocommunicateat
Ethernetswitches
thedatalinklayerwhileisolatingthephysicallayer.Withbridging,
onlywellformedEthernetpacketsareforwardedfromoneEthernet
segmenttoanothercollisionsandpacketerrorsareisolated.Atinitialstartup,Ethernetbridges(and
switches)worksomewhatlikeEthernetrepeaters,passingalltrafficbetweensegments.Byobservingthe
sourceaddressesofincomingframes,thebridgethenbuildsanaddresstableassociatingaddressesto
segments.Onceanaddressislearned,thebridgeforwardsnetworktrafficdestinedforthataddressonlyto
theassociatedsegment,improvingoverallperformance.Broadcasttrafficisstillforwardedtoallnetwork
segments.Bridgesalsoovercomethelimitsontotalsegmentsbetweentwohostsandallowthemixingof
speeds,bothofwhicharecriticaltodeploymentofFastEthernet.

In1989,thenetworkingcompanyKalpana(acquiredbyCiscoSystems,Inc.in1994)introducedtheir
EtherSwitch,thefirstEthernetswitch.[h]ThisworkssomewhatdifferentlyfromanEthernetbridge,where
onlytheheaderoftheincomingpacketisexaminedbeforeitiseitherdroppedorforwardedtoanother
segment.Thisgreatlyreducestheforwardinglatencyandtheprocessingloadonthenetworkdevice.One
drawbackofthiscutthroughswitchingmethodisthatpacketsthathavebeencorruptedarestillpropagated
throughthenetwork,soajabberingstationcancontinuetodisrupttheentirenetwork.Theeventualremedy
forthiswasareturntotheoriginalstoreandforwardapproachofbridging,wherethepacketwouldberead
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intoabufferontheswitchinitsentirety,verifiedagainstitschecksumandthenforwarded,butusingmore
powerfulapplicationspecificintegratedcircuits.Hence,thebridgingisthendoneinhardware,allowing
packetstobeforwardedatfullwirespeed.
Whenatwistedpairorfiberlinksegmentisusedandneitherendisconnectedtoarepeater,fullduplex
Ethernetbecomespossibleoverthatsegment.Infullduplexmode,bothdevicescantransmitandreceiveto
andfromeachotheratthesametime,andthereisnocollisiondomain.Thisdoublestheaggregate
bandwidthofthelinkandissometimesadvertisedasdoublethelinkspeed(forexample,200Mbit/s).[i]
Theeliminationofthecollisiondomainfortheseconnectionsalsomeansthatallthelink'sbandwidthcan
beusedbythetwodevicesonthatsegmentandthatsegmentlengthisnotlimitedbytheneedforcorrect
collisiondetection.
Sincepacketsaretypicallydeliveredonlytotheporttheyareintendedfor,trafficonaswitchedEthernetis
lesspublicthanonsharedmediumEthernet.Despitethis,switchedEthernetshouldstillberegardedasan
insecurenetworktechnology,becauseitiseasytosubvertswitchedEthernetsystemsbymeanssuchas
ARPspoofingandMACflooding.
Thebandwidthadvantages,theimprovedisolationofdevicesfromeachother,theabilitytoeasilymix
differentspeedsofdevicesandtheeliminationofthechaininglimitsinherentinnonswitchedEthernet
havemadeswitchedEthernetthedominantnetworktechnology.[39]

Advancednetworking
SimpleswitchedEthernetnetworks,whileagreatimprovementover
repeaterbasedEthernet,sufferfromsinglepointsoffailure,attacks
thattrickswitchesorhostsintosendingdatatoamachineevenifit
isnotintendedforit,scalabilityandsecurityissueswithregardto
switchingloops,broadcastradiationandmulticasttraffic,and
bandwidthchokepointswherealotoftrafficisforceddownasingle
link.
Advancednetworkingfeaturesinswitchesandroutersuseshortest
pathbridgingandspanningtreeprotocol,forexample,tomaintain
theactivelinksofthenetworkasatreewhileallowingphysical
loopsforredundancy,ensureportsecurityandprotectionfeatures
suchasMAClockdownandbroadcastradiationfiltering,usevirtual
LANstokeepdifferentclassesofusersseparatewhileusingthe
samephysicalinfrastructure,employmultilayerswitchingtoroute
betweendifferentclasses,anduselinkaggregationtoaddbandwidth
tooverloadedlinksandtoprovidesomeredundancy.

AcoreEthernetswitch

IEEE802.1aq(shortestpathbridging)includestheuseofthelink
stateroutingprotocolISIStoallowlargernetworkswithshortestpathroutesbetweendevices.In2012,it
wasstatedbyDavidAllanandNigelBragg,in802.1aqShortestPathBridgingDesignandEvolution:The
Architect'sPerspectivethatshortestpathbridgingisoneofthemostsignificantenhancementsinEthernet's
history.[40]

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VarietiesofEthernet
TheEthernetphysicallayerevolvedoveraconsiderabletimespanandencompassescoaxial,twistedpair
andfiberopticphysicalmediainterfaces,withspeedsfrom10Mbit/sto100Gbit/s.Thefirstintroduction
oftwistedpairCSMA/CDwasStarLAN,standardizedas802.31BASE5[41]while1BASE5hadlittle
marketpenetration,itdefinedthephysicalapparatus(wire,plug/jack,pinout,andwiringplan)thatwould
becarriedoverto10BASET.
Themostcommonformsusedare10BASET,100BASETX,and1000BASET.Allthreeutilizetwisted
paircablesand8P8Cmodularconnectors.Theyrunat10Mbit/s,100Mbit/s,and1Gbit/s,respectively.
FiberopticvariantsofEthernetofferhighperformance,betterelectricalisolationandlongerdistance(tens
ofkilometerswithsomeversions).Ingeneral,networkprotocolstacksoftwarewillworksimilarlyonall
varieties.

Layer2datagrams
InIEEE802.3,adatagramiscalledapacketorframe.Packetis
usedtodescribetheoveralltransmissionunitandincludesthe
preamble,startframedelimiter(SFD)andcarrierextension(if
present).[j]Theframebeginsafterthestartframedelimiterwitha
frameheaderfeaturingsourceanddestinationMACaddresses.The
middlesectionoftheframeconsistsofpayloaddataincludingany
headersforotherprotocols(forexample,InternetProtocol)carried
intheframe.Theframeendswitha32bitcyclicredundancycheck,
whichisusedtodetectcorruptionofdatain
transit.[42]:sections3.1.1and3.2
Notably,Ethernetpacketshavenotimetolivefield,leadingto
possibleproblemsinthepresenceofaswitchingloop.

AcloseupoftheSMSC
LAN91C110(SMSC91x)chip,an
embeddedEthernetchip.

Autonegotiation
Autonegotiationistheprocedurebywhichtwoconnecteddeviceschoosecommontransmission
parameters,e.g.speedandduplexmode.Autonegotiationisanoptionalfeature,firstintroducedwith
100BASETX,whileitisalsobackwardcompatiblewith10BASET.Autonegotiationismandatoryfor
1000BASET.

Seealso
543rule
ARCNET
Chaosnet
Error33
Ethernetcrossovercable
Fibermediaconverter
IndustrialEthernet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet

Listofdevicebitrates
LocalTalk
MetroEthernet
PHY(chip)
PointtoPointProtocoloverEthernet
PoweroverEthernet
Sneakernet
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WakeonLAN

Notes
a.TheexperimentalEthernetdescribedinthe1976paperranat2.94Mbit/sandhaseightbitdestinationandsource
addressfields,sotheoriginalEthernetaddressesarenottheMACaddressestheyaretoday.[14]Bysoftware
convention,the16bitsafterthedestinationandsourceaddressfieldsspecifya"packettype",but,asthepaper
says,"differentprotocolsusedisjointsetsofpackettypes".Thustheoriginalpackettypescouldvarywithineach
differentprotocol.ThisisincontrasttotheEtherTypeintheIEEEEthernetstandard,whichspecifiesthe
protocolbeingused.
b.Insomecases,thefactoryassignedaddresscanbeoverridden,eithertoavoidanaddresschangewhenanadapter
isreplacedortouselocallyadministeredaddresses.
c.Therearefundamentaldifferencesbetweenwirelessandwiredsharedmediumcommunications,suchasthefact
thatitismucheasiertodetectcollisionsinawiredsystemthanawirelesssystem.
d.InaCSMA/CDsystempacketsmustbelargeenoughtoguaranteethattheleadingedgeofthepropagatingwave
ofthemessagegetstoallpartsofthemediumandbackagainbeforethetransmitterstopstransmitting,
guaranteeingthatcollisions(twoormorepacketsinitiatedwithinawindowoftimethatforcedthemtooverlap)
arediscovered.Asaresult,theminimumpacketsizeandthephysicalmedium'stotallengtharecloselylinked.
e.Multipointsystemsarealsopronetostrangefailuremodeswhenanelectricaldiscontinuityreflectsthesignalin
suchamannerthatsomenodeswouldworkproperly,whileothersworkslowlybecauseofexcessiveretriesor
notatall.Seestandingwaveforanexplanation.Thesecouldbemuchmoredifficulttodiagnosethanacomplete
failureofthesegment.
f.This"onespeaks,alllisten"propertyisasecurityweaknessofsharedmediumEthernet,sinceanodeonan
Ethernetnetworkcaneavesdroponalltrafficonthewireifitsochooses.
g.Unlessitisputintopromiscuousmode.
h.Thetermswitchwasinventedbydevicemanufacturersanddoesnotappearinthe802.3standard.
i.Thisismisleading,asperformancewilldoubleonlyiftrafficpatternsaresymmetrical.
j.ThecarrierextensionisdefinedtoassistcollisiondetectiononsharedmediagigabitEthernet.

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(withcollisiondetection)"
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14.JohnF.ShochYogenK.DalalDavidD.RedellRonaldC.Crane(August1982)."EvolutionoftheEthernet
LocalComputerNetwork"(PDF).IEEEComputer15(8):1426.doi:10.1109/MC.1982.1654107.
15.vonBurg,UrsKenney,Martin(December2003)."Sponsors,Communities,andStandards:Ethernetvs.Token
RingintheLocalAreaNetworkingBusiness"(PDF).Industry&Innovation10(4):351375.
doi:10.1080/1366271032000163621.Archivedfromtheoriginalon20120321.Retrieved17February2014.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet

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EthernetWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

thedominantchoicefordesktopconnectivitytothenetwork"
40.Allan,DavidBragg,Nigel(2012).802.1aqShortestPathBridgingDesignandEvolution:TheArchitects'
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20140208.

Furtherreading
DigitalEquipmentCorporation,IntelCorporation,XeroxCorporation(September1980)."The
Ethernet:ALocalAreaNetwork".ACMSIGCOMMComputerCommunicationReview11(3):20.
doi:10.1145/1015591.1015594.Version1.0oftheDIXspecification.
"EthernetTechnologies".InternetworkingTechnologyHandbook.CiscoSystems.RetrievedApril11,
2011.
CharlesE.Spurgeon(2000).Ethernet:TheDefinitiveGuide.O'ReillyMedia.ISBN97815659266
08.

Externallinks
IEEE802.3Ethernetworkinggroup
(http://www.ieee802.org/3/)
IEEE802.32012standard
(http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/802.3.html)

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